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Ill
Report of the County Medical Officer—Education.
In the report on children out of school for long periods on account of ill-health (p. 109) it is shown
that 1,293 were registered as suffering from tuberculosis, viz., lungs 917 cases, glands 160 cases, other
organs 216 cases, the total being 13.36 per cent, of the whole number so excluded.
In dealing with the problem of children suffering from tuberculosis the need for a combination of
hospital and educational systems has to be borne in mind, and the Council decided that children certified
to be capable of receiving education shall be sent to institutions recognised by the Board of Education
under the Elementary Education (Defective and Epileptic Children) Act, 1899. The classification of
cases and the types of institution, day and residential, suitable for the various classes of cases to be dealt
with, and the extent to which the sufferers would be capable of receiving education, were discussed in the
annual report for 1913 (p. 157) and it was there indicated that at the end of the year negotiations were
in progress with a view to securing suitable residential accommodation ; the question of providing day
institutions, other than schools for physically defective children which had already been provided, was
deferred, mainly owing to the difficulty in London in securing suitable sites for open-air day schools. The
following is the accommodation which it has been estimated should be secured.
Residential institutions 350 beds for surgical cases.
150 beds—for pulmonary cases (125)
— and gland cases (25)
500
Open-Air Day Schools 1,000 places in addition to existing
provision of 300 places.
During 1914 the Council was successful in securing the specified number of beds in the under
mentioned institutions :—
East Anglian Children's Sanatorium 50 beds for pulmonary cases.
National Children's Home Sanatorium, Harpenden 10 beds for pulmonary cases.
Fleet Sanatorium, Hampshire 5 beds for pulmonary cases.
Queen Mary's Hospital, Carshalton 30 beds for either pulmonary or sur(Metropolitan
Asylums Board) gical cases as required.
Alexandra Hospital for Children with hip disease 20 beds for hip cases.
Victoria Home for Invalided Children, Margate 5 beds for surgical cases not requir-
ing education.
The first cases were sent to the East Anglian Children's Sanatorium on 15th June, and admissions
to the various institutions were continued as beds became available. At the end of the year 107 children
had been distributed among these institutions.
Of this number, 18 had been discharged by 31st December. The reports indicated that in 12 of
these, who had completed an average stay of 129 days, the disease was quiescent on discharge. The
remaining 6 left after varying periods of residence, owing either to the refusal of the parents to allow
the children to complete the treatment, or to insubordination. All children discharged are being kept
under medical observation at the local dispensaries and by the school medical service, and reports as to
their progress are being obtained by the Council at intervals of three months. It is not considered that
any useful data would be provided by an analysis in this report of the results of treatment, having
regard to the short time the scheme had been in operation at the end of 1914. It is, moreover, in contemplation
to issue in a few months' time, a comprehensive report dealing with the administration of the
Council's Tuberculosis Scheme.
The procedure in regard to the selection of children for admission to this school and the arrangements
made for the periodical medical examinations under the Education (Administrative Provisions)
Act, 1907, and the Education (Defective and Epileptic Children) Acts, 1899-1914, are set out in the annual
report for 1913. The school has been under the regular supervision of Dr. R. S. Walker, who is also the
medical officer of the Paddington Tuberculosis Dispensary, from which the children are drawn.
The number of children on the roll on 1st January was 96, and on 31st December 92 ; the
average for the year was 95. There was no marked variation in the attendance from month to
month except in November and December, when the average fell to 69.8 and 67.9 respectively. The
highest average attendance (84 9) was in May. During the year 38 children have been referred for
dental treatment; 11 for enlarged tonsils and adenoids; 8 for defective vision; 6 for ringworm,
scabies, etc.: 1 developed scarlet fever: and 4 were sent to sanatoria.
Keneal
House
Tuberculosis
School